Top Ten Tuesday: Love Stories

Tuesday, February 15, 2011


I had a review all ready for today, but when I saw this week's Top Ten Tuesday I just couldn't resist. As a rule I don't read romance novels (of the Harlequin Romance variety) but I looove a good love story. Especially as a newly-wed in love. (When do you stop calling yourself a newly-wed? We'll be married six months on Thursday!) Anyway, I enjoyed reading everyone's lists so much this morning as I sat in my neuro lab (yes, I have senioritis) that I decided I had to make my own. :)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

1. Karim and Raheen from Kartography by Kamila Shamsie. Karim's mom and Raheen's dad used to be engaged to each other, and Karim's dad and Raheen's mom used to be engaged to each other. Confusing, I know. Somehow they rearranged their romances and remained best friends. Karim and Raheen seem fated to fall in love, and their best-friendship is so sweet and perfect.
2. Jane and Mr. Bingley from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Don't get me wrong. But I love the sweet innocence of Jane and Mr. Bingley, especially after watching the Keira Knightley film adaptation. I love Mr. Bingley's awkwardness and humility.
3. Marguerite and Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. I remember when I read this book for the first time, I was so blown away I checked it out from the library about a month later. Their romance is unique and so touching.
4. Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This story is so sad, but I love the affinity Lily and Selden have for each other. They are "kindred spirits" in the truest sense of the word.
5. Dorothea Brooke and Will Ladislaw from Middlemarch by George Eliot. Another example of kindred spirits. The first conversation Dorothea has with Will is one of my favorite passages in literature - just the way she is so surprised to find someone she can communicate with on the same level.
6. Stargirl and Leo from Stargirl and Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. A lot of people have told me they really don't enjoy the Stargirl books, which is so surprising to me. I love the way Stargirl completely rocks Leo's world and turns it upside down. She is so different from anyone he has ever met before, and even though he is a little too immature to handle her uniqueness at first, he can't forget about her.
7. Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali from Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonsen. Oh, how I loved this story and the way the exotic Mrs. Ali causes the stagnating Major Pettigrew to throw caution to the winds.
8. Alex and Lena from Delirium by Lauren Oliver. This is a recent one, of course, but it just blew my mind. I can't really say more, because the reason it was so meaningful for me happened on the last page, but trust me, this is a good one.
9. The lovers from The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan. This was the review I was going to post today. This story was so sweet and heart-wrenching, I felt as if I was just peering into the narrator's soul. The lovers are quirky, flawed, and completely believable.
10. Heathcliff and Catherine from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Ok, so their story is kind of messed up. But that one line, "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

9 comments:

  1. Aww, Jane and Mr. Bingley are really sweet! At least we know they liked each other the whole time, unlike Darcy & Lizzie, LOL!

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  2. Jane and Bingley are a really sweet couple, but I'll always love Darcy and Elizabeth more :)
    And I loved Lena and Alex! OMG, the ending! I can't believe it'll be another year before the sequel comes out...

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  3. I was coming to comment about Jane and Mr. Bingley, too, and I see that I have plenty of company! I really love their love story, too -- and probably all the more because they're constantly in the shadow of Elizabeth and Darcy. Though I love them, too!

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  4. I love this list. Particularly Jane and Mr. Bingley, Lily Bart and Lawrence Seldon, and Stargirl and Leo. House of Mirth is so good and so sad.

    I love the idea of this list, I might take it from you...

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  5. a great list and I totally agree with you on Kathy and Heathcliff. The story is haunting. Kaye—the road goes ever ever on

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  6. The House of Mirth!!! You win. I thought I was the only one. Oh my gosh, their story is so tragic but come on ... they made my list too :D

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  7. Marguerite and Percy! I love them! How many of that series have you read? I've only made it through the first two, because the whole series is hard to find in print.

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  8. @Sarah - Yes, they had different challenges to overcome for sure. I love them!

    @Daisy - Ugh I know! I always vow that I will only read trilogies once all the books are released, but I never hold to it.

    @Meg - I definitely love Lizzie and Darcy too but I just think Bingley is so cute. He reminds me of my husband. :)

    @Allison - Do it! I'm glad you like Stargirl and Leo. Have you read the second book?

    @Kaye - Thank you! Yes, they give me chills every time I read the book.

    @Sarah - I feel like a lot of the couples that are considered the most romantic are tragic. I wonder why that is? I can't think of a good reason but there is definitely a pattern.

    @couchpotatocritic - Yay! I'm so glad you love them too! I have only read the first book but I have the others on my e-reader, and almost all of them were free! Do you know the order they go in? I have been wanting to get into them but I've been too lazy to figure out where to go after The Scarlet Pimpernel.

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  9. @Vinay - Thank you :) Thanks for stopping by!

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